Preface

This document is the eleventh edition of the Indiana State Cancer Registry's
incidence report. It provides valuable information to address issues related to
cancer, one of the Indiana State Department of Health public health priorities.

The 2000-2004 data in this report serve as a means of measuring progress
toward reaching the Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing cancer incidence in
Indiana. Because of the limitations described within the report, it should not
be regarded as a definitive description of cancer incidence in Indiana.

The Indiana State Cancer Registry was established for the purpose of
recording cases of malignant disease and compiling necessary and appropriate
information in order to conduct epidemiological studies of cancer and apply
appropriate preventive and control measures.

The primary measure associated with assessing the impact
of cancer in the general population is the number of new cases per year divided
by the number of persons at risk in the population (incidence rate). All
incidence rates in this report are age-adjusted to the 2000 United
States standard population. Age-adjustment minimizes the effect of a difference in
age distributions when comparing rates.

By convention, incidence rates of invasive cancers in Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
and Tables 2-2 and 2-3 in Section 2 exclude basal and squamous cell carcinomas
of the skin and carcinomas in situ (with the exception of bladder cancer
in situ), so that state and national rates can be compared. Table 2-1 in
Section 2 and Tables 3.n-7 in Section 3 include all invasive
and in situ cancers, except basal and squamous cell carcinomas of the skin,
since these tables are concerned with cancers diagnosed by stage. Refer to the
Technical Notes in Appendix B for further details.

By using this information to target at-risk populations, the Indiana State
Department of Health will continue to fulfill its mission of promoting health
and wellness among people in Indiana through planning, prevention, service, and
education.